Title: Denver Victim Services 2000 Community Advocate Program
Series: Fact Sheet
Author: Office for Victims of Crime
Published: September 2001
Subject: victim services, victims -- general, community advocate, underserved
communities
6 pages
12,288 bytes
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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office for Victims of Crime
OVC Fact Sheet
September 2001
Denver Victim Services 2000 Community Advocate Program
Victim Services 2000 (VS2000) is a multiyear demonstration project
sponsored and funded by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). The goal of
the VS2000 grant program is to improve the range, quality, and accessibility of
services for all types of crime victims, whether in rural or urban locations. OVC
has two active demonstration sites: the State of Vermont and the greater
Denver, Colorado, area. This fact sheet focuses on Denver's Community
Advocate Program and is one publication in a series on the Denver VS2000
demonstration project.
In 1997, OVC funded Denver as the urban VS2000 demonstration site. The
project was guided by the VS2000 vision: to create a model network of
resources in the community that provides innovative, seamless, and integrated
victim services. The grant directed that emphasis be placed on how to
effectively reach underserved and unserved populations, including victims from
diverse cultures and victims with disabilities.
The Denver VS2000 project began with a needs assessment to highlight gaps in
victim services. Input was gathered from agency and client satisfaction surveys
and from focus groups that included victims who are traditionally underserved
or unserved by victim services. The victims were asked what services they
needed and how those services should be delivered. Victims stated
overwhelmingly that they wanted services located in their own communities. At
the same time, victims in underserved communities expressed a high degree of
mistrust for both systems-based and community-based (nonprofit) service
agencies and were, for the most part, unaware of services--even those targeted
to them. This input provided the impetus for creating the Community Advocate
Program.
What Is a Community Advocate?
Community advocates (CAs) are part of an outreach initiative of the Denver
VS2000 demonstration project (referred to hereafter as VS2000). These
individuals are known, respected, and involved members of underserved and
unserved communities, and they provide crisis intervention for crime victims in
these communities and serve as trusted links to agencies providing victim
services. As community members, CAs effectively connect victims with needed
services. In their unique position, CAs can establish trust within a community
and build bridges between underserved or unserved victims and victim service
providers.
At Work in the Community
In Denver, victims often learn about CAs through word of mouth. CAs also
publicize their services at community meetings and other gatherings at which
they can distribute business cards and fliers. Because CAs participate in
community activities and meetings, they become known and trusted by
community members. As a result, victims feel safe and comfortable asking CAs
for help.
When contacted by a victim, the CA provides crisis intervention as well as
ongoing followup and case management to ensure that victims' needs are fully
met. CAs help crime victims overcome barriers to service, such as language
differences and mistrust of the system. Laptop computers give CAs in the field
access to the Denver VS2000 online case management system and online
resource directory, which help CAs provide better ongoing case management
services to victims.
CAs and Victim Service Providers
As part of the VS2000 network of service providers, CAs have a ready forum
for networking, collaborating, making and receiving referrals, and consulting
with other victim service providers. Their knowledge about service gaps and
issues for underserved and unserved victims can inform the development of a
model victim service network. Denver CAs provide quarterly cross-training
sessions to educate other victim service providers about their program and
about the cultural issues central to working with victims in their communities.
They also recruit and work to maintain community representation on Denver
VS2000 teams.
Crimes Addressed by CAs
Victimization can be caused by violent and nonviolent crimes against people
and property. Effective CAs must be aware of all types of crime that can
victimize members of the community and be prepared to address every victim's
needs and concerns, through direct services and referrals.
Crimes against people include a range of violent and nonviolent criminal
activity--murder, domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, robbery, elder
abuse, and hate and identity crimes. Personal crimes can result in physical,
mental, psychological, and financial victimization. Crimes against property (real,
personal, and public, among others) also can victimize individuals and entire
communities. Victims of property crime suffer financial losses and emotional
distress in addition to losing a sense of security and comfort within their
communities. Increases in property crime can compromise a community's ability
to function and meet members' needs. Ultimately, damage from property crime
can destroy a community as frustrated members abandon it.
Developing the CA Program
In establishing the CA Program, VS2000 staff decided to use a grant
application process that would ensure that funded projects were community
driven. Development was based on the premise that all neighborhoods and
communities have strengths and assets to build on and that the community
would be more likely to buy in with a community-led planning team. The goal
was to place funding for the CA Program in competent community hands.
VS2000 staff sent notices of funding availability to more than 800
neighborhood groups, homeowners associations, religious organizations,
business-owner groups, and community leaders. VS2000 staff, community
leaders, and agency representatives hosted a series of local community
television shows to advertise the availability of funding. Public service
announcements were sent to radio stations, and press releases were sent to
neighborhood and city papers. Information about the funding opportunity also
was presented at numerous community meetings.
Successful applications--
o Identified communities in which ideas were generated by the community and
not by one person or agency.
o Reflected diverse representation from the community.
o Targeted an underserved or unserved population.
o Identified a gap in services for victims of violent crime.
o Presented a plan for improving services.
o Clearly defined other gaps in services.
o Created relevant goals and objectives for addressing the gap(s).
Technical Assistance
The application process was explained by VS2000 staff to interested
community groups at workshops in various Denver locations, particularly in
areas with large underserved or unserved populations. In addition to
background information on the VS2000 project and the CA Program,
workshops offered instruction and technical assistance on--
o Application completion.
o Development of goals and objectives for the CA Program.
o Budget development.
o Awardee's fiscal responsibilities to the VS2000 project.
Pilot Project Selections
VS2000 staff chose three communities to pilot the CA Program: the
predominantly Latino community in northwest Denver, several neighborhoods in
northeast Denver with a mostly African-American population, and the local
Muslim community, which is geographically dispersed throughout Denver.
Neighborhood Planning Groups
The organizations chosen to receive CA Program grants had all formed strong
neighborhood planning groups (NPGs) to develop goals and objectives for the
project. NPGs identified the most compelling victim service needs in their
communities and formulated plans for addressing those needs. An NPG is
constantly involved in the CA grant because it recruits, hires, and supervises
each CA. CAs also serve on the NPG. NPG members assist CAs in their work
with victims by meeting regularly to discuss issues and barriers, participating in
strategic planning, and providing guidance. NPG members also attend VS2000
steering committee meetings and help with community projects, cross-training,
and outreach efforts.
Conclusion
A comprehensive OVC bulletin that addresses all aspects of the CA Program is
in development. Topics of discussion will include--
o Gaps in service to underserved and unserved populations.
o Development and supervision of a community outreach program.
o Lessons learned from implementing, supervising, and evaluating the program.
o Technology that facilitates provision of service to underserved and unserved
populations and provides an online case management system.
For More Information
For more information or technical assistance regarding the Community
Advocate Program, contact
Marti Kovener
Project Director
Victim Services 2000
303 West Colfax Avenue, Suite 1300
Denver, CO 80204
720-913-9256
Fax: 720-913-9090
Web site: www.vs2000.org
Office for Victims of Crime
U.S. Department of Justice
810 Seventh Street NW., Eighth Floor
Washington, DC 20531
202-307-5983
Fax: 202-514-6383
Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc
For copies of this fact sheet, other OVC publications, or information on
additional victim-related resources, please contact:
Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center (OVCRC)
Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
1-800-627-6872 or 301-519-5500
Web site: www.ncjrs.gov
E-mail: askovc@ncjrs.gov
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The Office for Victims of Crime is a component of the Office of Justice
Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of
Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
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